In 1982 the Commodore 64 computer was introduced, Ronald Reagan survived being shot, the Falkland War started and ended, Michael Jackson released, Thriller, Canada repatriated its Constitution, and the first compact disc was sold in Germany. And that’s not all. In 1982 I blossomed from a naive fourteen-year-old trying to fit in with the cool kids to something much more: a naive eyeliner-wearing, fifteen-year-old trying to fit in with the cool kids.

So writes Jian Ghomeshi in this, his first book, 1982. It is a memoir told across intertwined stories of the songs and musical moments that changed his life. Obsessed with David Bowie ("I wanted to be Bowie,” he recalls), the adolescent Ghomeshi embarks on a Nick Hornbyesque journey to make music the centre of his life. Acceptance meant being cool, and being cool meant being Bowie. And being Bowie meant pointy black boots, eyeliner, and hair gel. Add to that the essential all-black wardrobe and you have two very confused Iranian parents, busy themselves with gaining acceptance in Canada against the backdrop of the revolution in Iran.

It is a bittersweet, heartfelt book that recalls awkward moments such as Ghomeshi’s performance as the “Ivory” in a school production of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s Ebony and Ivory; a stakeout where Rush was rehearsing for its world tour; and a memorable day at the Police picnic of 1982. Music is the jumping-off place for Ghomeshi to discuss young love, young heartache, conformity, and the nature of cool. At the same time, 1982 is an entertaining cultural history of a crazy era of glam, glitter, and gender-bending fads and fashions. And it is definitely the first rock memoir by a Persian-Canadian new waver.

About the Author

Jian Ghomeshi is a broadcaster, writer, musician, and producer. He is the host of the national talk program Q on CBC Radio One and CBC TV. The show, which he co-created in 2007, now has the largest audience of any cultural affairs program in Canada. Ghomeshi was a member of the multi-platinum-selling Canadian folk-rock group Moxy Früvous. Born in England of Iranian descent and raised in Canada, Ghomeshi now lives in Toronto.

This book was terrible. The content was weak and repetitive. It constantly stated the obvious "In 1982, we didn't have facebook". Also, I'm not sure who this book is written for; people who were alive in 1982, people who are 15 now? I would not recommend this book to either of those groups. This book could have been shortened to a nice little essay suitable for the Walrus and it would have been lovely, but instead Jian (and his publishers) got greedy and took a little bit of content and streched it over 270 painful pages. If anyone other than Jian Ghomeshi wrote the book, then it would have never been published,

I'm a huge fan of Jian Ghomeshi's radio program "Q", and think he is one of the smartest, most genuine media personalities out there. His interviewing style is brilliant, and the Q essays always make you think.

That said, he really disappointed me with this book. It was very clear from beginning to end that he had a VERY poor editor (this person should be fired), and that his Canadian celeb status is what led to the publishing of the book, because it has minimal literary merit on its own. While the description of the 80s was funny at times, the writing prose was very repetitive and redundant. This style could have worked if he was reading this over the radio, but in written form, it sounded amateur.

A memoir should recall interesting people in your life, and your memories of them should bring them alive with focus and clarity, and make you feel like you know them by the end of the book. Ghomeshi's book depicted all of the characters in his life as very flat, one-dimensional people. His mother was described repeatedly, in three to four paragraphs, "as very polite" and "very nice". His sister Jila he never really describes at all, other than her being a theatre student. No conversations, conflicts, moments of bonding ever discussed. His father has more descriptors than the other two, but even then its very flat.

Finally, the intended audience of the book is confusing. He writes in the narrative style of a 14-year old, and while many authors have done this successfully (the perspective of a youth can expose the hypocrisies and quirks of adults in a very sharp way), in this book it comes across as juvenile, almost as if you are being talked down to.

The highlights of the book were his humiliating experience being made fun of in school about wearing eyeliner (I'm sure we can all relate to moments of shame in high school), his experiences with theatre, and descriptions of the music scene in the 80s. But even his constant Bowie references got really annoying very quickly.

Again, this book would be great if it was read aloud as a series of short essays over the radio, with accompanying music related to the chapters. But as a piece of literary work, it was very amateur and mediocre, and it's very obvious that this book was based on promoting a celebrity rather than publishing a good book that would be enjoyable to read. Also, the "positive" reviews by Toronto Star, National Post, etc are highly suspicious. Anyone who reads this book would at least agree that the writing was very poor and in need of serious editing. Therefore, its clear that the media reviews were about promotion and advertising, because when you read actual reader reviews, the poor writing is consistently mentioned.

I really hope Jian improves his writing style and gets a good editor next time, or keeps his writing style targeting to the radio audience through Q essays.

Status: Read. Well, no, actually - made myself read 100 pages, but it didn't improve, so I stopped. Wish I hadn't read any of it - I quite enjoy Jian Ghomeshi as an interviewer and broadcaster, so I really didn't need to know what a poor writer he is. Takes a bit of the bloom off of the rose. The book is lame. As in, 15 year old guy lame. Just because he was writing about his early years, it doesn't mean he had to write as though he were a teenager (and I've read much better teenage writing). Repetitive, cute for the sake of being cute ( but it doesn't succeed), superficial, self-indulgent, boooorrrrrring. One example of a combination of these dubious qualities: the book is punctuated by lists, as in,"here's a short list (or shortlist) [his little joke, which he uses in more than one list intro]", followed by a list of the records he liked most, or who he wanted to be, or what his mom did or didn't want him to turn out like, all in 1982 - you get the idea. Over and over and over again. And if there was an editor, he or she should never be hired again, by anybody. Glad I checked it out of the library instead of buying it, but sorry that I urged the library to acquire a copy.